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12/27/2012 12:11 PM

Kwanzaa kicks off week-long celebration of family, culture

By: YNN Staff

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While some winter holidays have wrapped up, another is just getting started.

The week-long celebration Kwanzaa kicked off yesterday. Commonly mistaken for a religious holiday, Kwanzaa is a recognized time to gather with family to celebrate culture and community.

People celebrating Kwanzaa also reflect on seven principles. Some of those include self determination, purpose, and faith.

A candelabrum is used to signify those values.

"Each day, we're going to light up a candle,” Elizabeth Kahura said. “We can see the first candle we lit was yesterday. It's called Umoja. That means Unity.

Kwanzaa is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

To learn more about the holiday, OfficialKwanzaaWebsite.org.